Hanoi, May 31, 2017 – At the Northern Regional Competition of the U.S. Embassy Hanoi’s 2017 Ambassador’s Entrepreneurship Challenge on May 30, 14 startups emerged as semifinalists. They will compete in the National Competition on June 14. This year’s Ambassador’s Entrepreneurship Challenge includes three categories: social entrepreneurship, idea stage, and startup stage. The goal of this U.S. Embassy initiative is to help Vietnam expand its entrepreneurial ecosystem and encourage innovation.
Counselor for Public Affairs Molly Stephenson opened the pitch competition, expressing gratitude for the many Challenge sponsors, including Alabaster Foundation by Sonny & Christy Vu for one $5,000 scholarship to attend the Vietnam Executive MBA at the Shidler College of Business of the University of Hawaii, Mr. Nghĩa Vũ for the $500 cash prize in the social entrepreneurship category, and institutional sponsors The Vietnam Executive MBA at the Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii, Topica Founder Institute, Toong Co-working Space, UP Coworking Space, and Seattle-based non-government organization Jolkona. She also recognized the many individuals serving as judges and trainers in support of this three-month initiative.
While the vast majority of the teams include college students, young professionals and entrepreneurs, the AliceNote team includes seasoned software developers.
The semifinalists include:
Social Entrepreneurship Category:
- VJU for the Grannies
- Red bucket wind turbine
- Indigen Peak
- Green Lady Viet Nam
- Kids Need Books
Idea Category:
- InterHome.vn
- Green Tea Pork
- SafetyRanking.net
- Meraki
Startup Category:
- Fresh Deli
- Alicenote
- WEB NHA THUOC
- JOBO
- Hachi – Smart Agriculture
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